Skelmersdale company unveils stunning transformation of landmark church

The transformation of St Cyprian's church is now complete, and the first students have moved in @tabdufy39

A Skelmersdale company has transformed a landmark church into a multi-million pound student flat development.

The family owned Primesite Developments has invested £5.5m in St Cyprian’s church in Liverpool. The first wave of students have now moved into the building on Edge Lane, and more will arrive in November.

The accommodation offers students sumptuous studio-style apartments, a short distance from the city’s universities. The first images show living spaces that are a world from the grotty halls many students in the past had to put up with as undergraduates.

The site features 118 self-contained fully-furnished studio apartments as well as a communal lounge, internet zones and study rooms. There is duplex accommodation and roof terraces; the studios come complete with private kitchens and en-suite bathrooms.

Much of the church’s original architecture, such as stained glass and pillars, have been saved and blended into the cutting edge development. The rooms offer students stunning views of the city.

Kerry Tomlinson, managing director of Primesite, explained that the project now completed the regeneration of the area. He said: “We are pleased to announce that 67 students move into the first phase, The Cube, this month followed by a further 51 students in November to the old Church section.”

The team at Primesite built over 300 homes between 2001 and 2007. When the recession hit in 2008, the company coped by shifting away from bank financed projects, and began working with private investors. The company moved into student, commercial and residential projects, and the firm’s portfolio grew to 800 units.

Mr Tomlinson added: “We have created something a little different here for the student market with larger than average rooms set in a quite spectacular setting. It’s one of the key buildings on the main corridor into the city. Everyone has commented how much better Edge Lane is looking after years of regeneration works but this corner has blighted the view to the city, so we are more than pleased to have brought this key site back into use.”

Stuart Duffy, partner at Liverpool-based KDP Architects who worked on the project, said: “This development has seen a fusion of old and new come together to create a quite unique offering to the Liverpool student market.”

St Cyprian’s had begun to decline when many homes were cleared as part of the Edge Lane demolition process. A community vanished and the church’s old parish was turned to dust.

The church closed in 2006, when the last worshippers stopped using it and it was then deconsecrated. The church then became a target for vandals and started to decay.

A planned restoration failed to materialise and heartbreaking images emerged of the church’s original features lying broken; the organ was almost smashed in two with masonry falling from the walls.

The 19th-century building is listed and the Liverpool Diocese and Liverpool council said while they wanted a “sympathetic” restoration, they were “prepared to be flexible”.

Heritage campaigners welcomed the possibility of the church – built between 1879 and 1881 and designed by architect Henry Sumners – being brought back to life, but laid the blame for its condition with the diocese.

Relations between the diocese and the Victorian Society were sadly strained by the uncertainty surrounding the building’s future.

In September 2010, the society said it was a disgrace that the church was left to fall into dereliction, especially as Bishop James Jones chaired the Kensington New Deal regeneration board. Liverpool city council’s planning committee then backed a proposal to turn it into student accommodation and to build a five-storey extension on the side.